When you first start blogging, you may be tempted to set up your blog on one of the free blogging platforms that are available. If this is just a hobby for you, that may be okay, but if you plan on blogging for profit, you will want to set up a website on your own domain as soon as possible for the following reasons.
1. Your blog won't look professional.
Hosted blogs are fine for hobbyists, but regardless of the quality of your blog, people looking at a hosted blog address are thinking "amateur." If you want to join the ranks of those who earn an income from their blogs, you have to show that you are a professional.
Remember, your blog will grow faster if you can partner with other bloggers. Anyone looking to do business with you will check your domain address and judge your commitment accordingly. Hosting on your domain will give you the credibility you need if you want to earn a living from your blog.
2. You may not be able to sell your blog.
Even if you are able to convince people to look beyond your web domain and join your network and you do manage to build a profitable blog, you probably will never have a chance to sell your blog.
At the outset selling your blog may seem like a pipe dream, but should you find you are successfully blogging for profit you may need to sell all or part of your stake in your blog to raise funds for future ventures.
3. Your blog will start from scratch with the search engines when you make the switch.
Many bloggers start out thinking that when they reach the point that they are earning a profit, then they will set up a website on their own domain. They don't realize they will end up starting all over with the search engines. Or worse, they underestimate the problems this will present.
The problem is that the search engines rank your website based on its age, the sites linking in, and the very specific addresses of each page. When you set up a new website with a new address, you can direct everyone to follow a link on the old site to the new site but you cannot transfer the search engine ranking to your new site. You will have to start all over building credibility in the search engines.
While it is not impossible to start with a free hosted blog and build a profitable business, nearly every blogger earning a living agrees with the importance of owning your own domain. As soon as you decide you want to try blogging for profit, go ahead and get your website set up on your domain. Overall you will save yourself the most time, trouble, and ultimately money.
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